Well-known Member

I have an M&K MX150THX sub at the moment. For both aesthetic and sound considerations, I am thinking of changing to a REL Stadium III. My friendly delear has offered me a very good trade in deal.<br />I like the 150THX sub, but feel it is a lttle boomy sometimes. <br />The room is a dedicated cinema room.<br />Any opinions ?

AVForums FounderStaff Member

I don't know anything about the M&K, but have you auditioned the Studio III? Is the M&K 150 watts as the name suggests? The Studio III is at least 300 watts (maybe 400 or 500, I don't know the spec), but the Studio (and this applies to all models), uses 2 very powerful 9" drivers and a complex internal design in order to create a sound quality and power output which is far beyond what you'd expect just by glancing at 300 watt (or whatever) specification. I used to own some Q100E's and my Studio II is just in a different league altogether. <br />I use my REL with a Denon AVC-A1SE and when the amp is at reference level and the bullets and bombs are flying in Saving Private Ryan, the REL gain is on just 1/4 of maximum and rocking my socks off.<br />I suspect changing from your M&K to the new REL will be a bit like changing from a yacht to an aircraft carrier.<br />If you live anywhere near Birmingham, come over to have a listen to my Studio II playing Saving Private Ryan. Ear muffs not allowed.

Home cinema and gadget enthusiast, movie and TV fan and PC gamer.
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Ex biker, ex RCMA flier, drummer and antitheist. Programming computers since 1979.

AVForums FounderStaff Member

Ok, Stadium is it. My philosophy is that if you aim for a sub which is musical, you'll get a sub which is good for movies too. It may not have quite the same slam as some models, but the overall reproduction is, in theory, more accurate.<br />Nobody should suppose that just because equipment DOES NOT carry the THX badge that it is inferior.<br />There are two very good reasons why a company like REL would not go for THX certification :<br />1) Their biggest market is the audiophile buyer who will percieve a THX branded product as being a home cinema product and therefore a compromised product. I.e. no longer audiophile quiality.<br />2) It costs thousands of pounds.

Home cinema and gadget enthusiast, movie and TV fan and PC gamer.
See the construction of the AVForums home cinema.
Ex biker, ex RCMA flier, drummer and antitheist. Programming computers since 1979.

Active Member

The M&K may be 'only' 150w but that matters little, and it is eaily as good as the Stadium III, and if it is tuned propely then it should not boom at all.

The THX badge in the case of subs, means that it has an 80hz x-over circuit, and maybe ha to be over 120w (something running from the days before DD and dts when THX subs were passive and driven by an external amp)

Active Member

Are you mad? The M&K MX150 is one of the best and most desirable subs out there (why do you think your dealer's only too happy to take it off your hands?). I'm not saying there aren't better subs but I fancy many of us would sell our grandmothers for an MX150.

Never mind 150 watts, we're talking two 12inch speakers in a push-pull configuration - it's got slam and speed so it should do movies and music brilliantly.

Seriously, I'd experiment with the positioning of it and all the various settings before you even think about changing it - you could even get your local dealer to come out to your place and set it up. I'm sure that when properly set up you'll love it.

If you still want to get rid of it after all that then you could always offer it to us bulletin board members at whatever trade-in you've been offered!

Oh, and Spectre; if as you say, you don't know anything about M&K then it's probably unwise to say that changing from M&K to REL is a bit like changing from a yacht to an aircraft carrier.

Well-known Member

Originally posted by Matt F:<br /><strong>Are you mad? </strong><hr></blockquote>

I must admit that this crossed my mind as well. It seems to be a sideways move and not a good use of funds. You now have a good M and K sub. The money has been spent. Swapping to a Rel won't give much extra at all.

Well-known Member

The main reason I was considering changing was that I was considering using my B&W Nautilus 804s in my cinema in place of my KEF THX package.<br />The M&K sub is not a good aesthetic or sonic match for the 804s and does boom in these circumstances. Also, it has a fixed crossover.<br />I can't reloacte it, due to the layout of my room.<br />However... having tried the 804s in my cinema, I have decided to stick with the KEFs for the moment. I have a high quality music system that suits the 804s better than relocating them into my cinema.<br />The main issue with high-end B&W, in my opinion, is that the surround options are very limited.

Guest

I think you have to decide if you want a different sub to enhance your rooms looks, or to improve the sound of your system!

The M&K 150 is one of the best subs around. I have a HUGE amount of experience with the M&K line up and the only subs that are any better (without spending SERIOUS cash, like the Krell one) are the 350THX and the 5000THX. If you want to improve the sound, then either - a) get another 150THX, or b) get a 350THX.

The advantage of the 350THX is the extra power output and hence extra quality and more control over the bass. Also you get the abilty to "tune" the bass to your room by use of extra controls on the back and the "bass extension switch".

Guest

Of course you are right, if you want to complement your 804s you need a flexible subwoofer, like a REL, or two.

I read somewhere about this guy that had a REL Studio on his music system and a REL Strata on his cinema system, one day he tried swithing and then traded the Studio for another Strata and eventully tried two Strata on the music system and had to buy a third for the cinema system...

On the other hand I believe the M&K might be better for cinema, but if you dont have room, or the wife won´t go for the "uglyness" of keeping everything, I would go for two REL Strata III, thats what I have, it sounds great, not too expensive, and is easy to place in the living room...

Guest

The 150 system fronts are fantastic. Extremely fast and accurate for films and for most people they're good enough for music too. However, if you're into your music quite a bit then excersice some caution, as they aren't the best hi fi speakers. It's worth having a listen really just to satisfy yourself, as some people have dismissed them without even listening to them. I've known some real "2 channel" buffs who've been more than happy with their performance. The S150P's are better sounding, but lack power for my liking.

The SS-150THX's are one of the best surround speakers you can get. A good friend of mine uses them as the side speakers on a 7.1 system, which consists of rather a large amount of Theta and Krell electronics and Wilson Audio speakers. I also use these as the rear channels on my own system. Again, they are incredible accurate and are able to "place" sounds around the room with ease.

With regards to the sub situation, if you're into music a fair bit and you truly want the best of both worlds (and if space is an issue), then try a pair of M&K MX-700 subs (at £1595 each). This uses 2 x 8" drivers in "push -pull" mode with a 200wrms amp which is more than enough to fill a decent size room on its own, let alone 2 of them. The 200w amp is perfectly able to control the drive units and give bucket loads of bass if yo want it to. It also drops nicely too, not as far as something like an MX-350 would, but not far off and still very low. The smaller drive units of the MX-700 (8" rather than 12", as Im sure you know) work much better for music than those of the MX-150/350/5000.